Blossoming recreational business scene in Dhaka city

The former president of the United States Thomas Jefferson had this to say about Recreation: "Leave all the afternoon for exercise and recreation, which are as necessary as reading. I will rather say more necessary because health is worth more than learning." Recreation is any activity which is not related to work or study but focused on stimulation, and it is crucial to the physical and mental being of an individual. It is an integral and defining portion of any lifestyle, culture, religion and even economy.
Major recreational hubs in Dhaka today are mostly clubs, restaurants, cafetarias, shopping malls, hotels, gaming zones, amusement parks, bowling alleys, Cineplexes, movie theaters, galleries, stadiums, open fields, parks. There has been a notable increase in number of recreational spots over the years.
The expenditure of any city on recreation is a viable indicator of its economic well-being. The increased spending on recreational activities in Dhaka city shows how quality of life has improved alongside purchasing power of the average Dhaka citizen. Dhaka city is the most densely packed with people and businesses.

Fig. 1 GDP Growth of Bangladesh (source: www.tradingeconomics.com)

Increased GDP means increased economic freedom and greater ease of doing business. It is also related to improved quality of life and hence purchasing power.

Fig 2. Bangladesh Disposable Income (source: www.tradingeconomics.com)

Increased disposable income makes it likelier of the average Dhaka dweller to seek out and spend money on recreational activities.
Building recreation hubs are now all the rage. It has been a formidable business area with more competitors entering almost on a weekly basis and leaving that frequently. Where there used to be fewer relatively higher end restaurants in the nineteen-eightees, we now have a restaurant on almost every area. Number of shopping malls have increased and thus recreational products is now more available to the Dhaka dweller (assuming he or she has purchasing power). Back in the day some fifty or so years, major recreational hubs used to be mostly open fields, hotels, cafetarias, or homes where the average Dhaka-ite family spent more time together. Nowadays, people are walking into restaurants almost on a daily basis or a shopping mall when outside on free time, going a movie every weekend.
Restaurants: Most recreation hubs nowadays, and events are aimed at young adults, their age ranging: between eighteen and thirty five. The theme of the places conform to the pop culture which are an integral part of their lives. For example, the SRK Showtime (which is located in Banani) has a fictional-superhero theme. The whole place is adorned with posters and pictures of superheroes and collectibles such as comics, figurines, and fashion accessories. This gives the place a rabid cult following and this is not the only such hub with a theme. There are numerous sport cafes too across the city such as the Break. People go there for food as well as to watch football or cricket games together. Some restaurants and cafes have a musical theme, often featuring daily live performances by known and unknown artists. Some restaurants are best known for specific cuisines such as Time Out where the most consumed food are Indian delicacies like the Dosa and PaniPuri. Some are renowned for superior delivery. These all comprise a very few among hundreds of other restaurants frequented daily. Restaurants market themselves using social media, and use crude marketing strategies. For example, some, like Burger N' Boost offer free drinks if they are tagged by customers in their Facebook statuses and posts, and thus helping expose them further.

"The number of restaurant goers has gone up because there are very few other affordable alternative hubs that can be attended as regularly." Says Antara, a grad student from Independent University. "Especially for women" She adds. "Restaurants are good places to hang out with friends. And every restaurant brings something new to the table. Cuisines here may not be of International standards but they certainly are getting there."
Cineplexes and movie theaters: Aside from restaurants there are Cineplexes which are increasing in number. Where the Basundhara City used to be a major attraction for a very large variety of stores and a Cineplex, it now has the Jamuna Future Park to deal with. The latter is still in an early stage of completion and isn't completely available to the public yet. There are older movie theaters in the country which are more accessible to lower income recreation seekers, for example Balaka Cinema Hall.
Events: Aside from places to go to, our youth has a number of prolific event management firms organizing concerts, expos (such as the pop culture expo this year) and events like the famous Comicon. There are also other youth based events like The Hay Festival, the Educational Ted Talks. There was also the grand Four Day Classical Musical Festival this year held at the army stadium. Musical events are the most frequently attended.
About Event management, this is what the CEO and Founder of Live Square Events, Nafis Ahmed had to say about how the field changed over the years: " I think it has changed drastically.  Firstly, it has a lot of 'step ups' on a social level. It used to be something very unprofessional, and non-technically speaking anyone could do it. But people have realized one thing over the years - this is not everyone's cup of tea considering the amount of meticulosity it takes in planning and execution."
Clubbing and nightlife: There are numerous clubs across the city. Clubs like Gushan Club, are mostly attended on a regular basis by mostly upper middle class and higher income people with ages mostly over thirty five-forty and foreign residents. Clubs often have bars, gyms, and cafetarias. Some such as the Fu Wang Club has bowling alleys.
Amusement parks: Amusement parks are sadly too few for Dhaka City to accommodate. Nandan Park is the country's largest family oriented amusement park. Most of the rides and amusements are for the first time in Bangladesh like 5D Cinema Theater, Cable Car, Water Coaster, Tilt-A-Whirl, Ice-Land, Musical Dancing Fountain, Wave pool and so on. This park is specially designed for wholesome family day out amusement and the rides have been carefully chosen for people of any age. Other than Nandan Park, there is ShishuMela. Its services are relatively cheaper and is more available to lower income families. Jamuna Future Park has a small amusement park attached to its colossal structure. Despite being only recently made (somewhat) available to the public, Jamuna Future Park has had a massive turnout of enthusiastic youthful customers.

 Recreation is a diverse activity in Dhaka city. Aside from business, one has plenty of things to do and plenty of places to go to. Aside from places and hobbies, people seek recreation in company of friends and family, in the numerous cultural and religious festivals, in weddings, also in sports and arts. Dhaka city, being as densely packed as it is has fewer open fields today due to numerous urban activity.
There is less place for children to play. They barely have any proper recreational hubs aside from school grounds and rooftops to pursue sporting activities and this is lamentable. There has been less innovation in that area compared to other demographics. There needs to be more investment in family or children based recreational hubs aside from small toy areas in restaurants. There should also be some decentralisation in such businesses. The early bird is bound to catch some worms. The decentralisation of recreational businesses could create job opportunities outside Dhaka and also provide many a jolly good time.
Email: [email protected]